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| Section The ICRC in Switzerland  ICRC headquarters in Geneva réf. bat-d-00010-01h Switzerland – and specifically Geneva – is the “home” of the ICRC, which was founded in the lakeside city in 1863 by members of a public welfare association. Since then the ICRC’s headquarters has remained in Geneva. While the ICRC has always been an entirely private and independent organization under Swiss law, it has had a unique relationship with the Swiss authorities which – at the Committee’s prompting – convened the diplomatic conference that drew up the first Geneva Convention in 1864.  Event20-7-2009 Our world. Your move. Events in Switzerland.Just 150 years ago, Swiss businessman Henry Dunant happened to witness the aftermath of one of the most brutal battles of the 19th century, at Solferino in what is now northern Italy. The scenes of suffering that he witnessed in 1859 led him to take the first steps towards the creation of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. (Info resources\Events) Event Includes PDF 2-7-2009 Red Cross and Red Crescent youth declarationHundreds of youth volunteers, representing the 50 million youth volunteers of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, travelled from Solferino, Italy to Geneva, Switzerland to bring their message to the world. They have gathered to define their vision of humanity and to address the Solferinos of today: poverty, violence, migration, disease, discrimination and climate change. They presented a declaration addressed to international leaders, proposing solutions to today’s humanitarian challenges. (Info resources\Events) Event Includes Photo Feature15-11-2007 ICRC WWI prisoner archives join UNESCO Memory of the WorldArchives recording the fate of about 2 million prisoners captured during World War One have entered UNESCO's Memory of the World. The occasion was marked by a ceremony at the International Museum of the Red Cross and Red Crescent in Geneva attended by Swiss Vice-President, Pascal Couchepin, and the ICRC President, Jakob Kellenberger. (About the ICRC\History\First World War) Feature Includes Photo International Review of the Red Cross30-4-1993 Agreement between the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Swiss Federal Council to determine the legal status of the Committee in SwitzerlandFull text of the headquarters agreement, signed 19 March 1993, between the ICRC and the government of Switzerland. (Info resources\International Review\1994 and before) International Review of the Red Cross Official Statement26-5-2004 Swiss neutrality as viewed by the International Committee of the Red CrossSwitzerland and the ICRC both set great value on their respective policies of neutrality but important principles distinguish the two models, as the ICRC's Director for International Law and Cooperation within the Movement, François Bugnion, explains. (About the ICRC) Official Statement Photo Collection16-7-2009 Switzerland: freed ICRC staff member Eugenio Vagni arrives in GenevaSix months after he was kidnapped in the southern Philippines, ICRC water and sanitation engineer Eugenio Vagni arrived in Geneva late on the evening of 15 July with his wife and young daughter. (The ICRC worldwide\Western and Central Europe and the Balkans\Switzerland) Photo Collection Includes Photo Press article29-4-2008 Score for the Red CrossFootball and the Red Cross Red Crescent may seem unlikely bedfellows, but recognition of shared values has helped forge a longstanding and mutually beneficial relationship. In the context of the forthcoming EURO 2008™, UEFA and the ICRC have once again joined forces to bring aid to the victims of armed conflict - Article published in the Red Cross Red Crescent Magazine, No 1, 2008. (Help the ICRC\Clubs and associations) Press article 3-5-2005 Geneva and the Red CrossThis article was published in "Genève et la paix, Acteurs et enjeux, Trois siècles d'histoire, Actes du colloque historique tenu au Palais de l'Athénée les 1- 2-3 novembre 2001", edited by Roger Durand, with he collaboration of Jean-Daniel Candaux and Antoine Fleury, Association "Genève : un lieu pour la paix", Geneva, December 2005, pp. 69-99. English translation (extracts) published in : International Geneva Yearbook, Volume XIX, 2005-2006, pp. 5-15. This article was reproduced here with the editors' kind permission. (About the ICRC\History\Founding) Press article Other site23-2-2005 Geneva Humanitarian ForumGeneva is home to a wide variety of humanitarian actors whose work spans the globe. The Geneva Humanitarian Forum (GHF) seeks to provide a platform for creative thinking, interaction, and the exchange of ideas on issues and challenges facing the humanitarian community. (Info resources\Other sites\Institutes and universities) Other site |
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